Mihalinec is a 16-year-old high school junior at Rossview and is an active member of the community. She is the founder of the non-profit organization S.T.E.P.S., the secretary of Future Teachers of America, has volunteered for Manna Cafe for the past four years and is involved in numerous other clubs and organizations.

Her platform for the pageant and an issue that is close to her is homelessness. Her father was homeless as a child, and now Mihalinec devotes much of her time to organizations that help low income families. Mihalinec said on her website that she would like to raise awareness about homelessness and its different facets.

"I can use my platform to help bring awareness to homelessness for children, families and military vets that come home and suffer from PTSD and find it hard to adapt to regular society and end up becoming homeless," Mihalinec said.

The Miss Tennessee USA and Miss Tennessee Teen USA pageant will be held at Austin Peay Oct. 2-4 and will be aired on NBC live.

EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this report should have said several teens from the Clarksville area are expected to compete in the pageant.